California starts third 15-day public comment period on comp drug formulary

The California Department of Industrial Relations has launched another 15-day public comment period for stakeholders to weigh in on changes made to the state’s proposed workers comp prescription drug formulary since the last public comment period ended in early August, according to a press release.
This will be the third public comment period, which started Thursday and ends on Sept. 22. The first produced comments from 24 organizations and individuals, many asking for a delay from the original July 1, 2017 implementation dates — a request granted in June when the date was pushed to Jan. 1, 2018.
The second public comment period produced responses from 17 organizations and individuals, many praising California for introducing a formulary that would curb opioid prescribing with a few suggestions for weaning off opioids.
Under California’s proposed comp formulary, long-term opioid prescribing will no longer be allowed without a review process.
Some of the changes proposed in the revised regulations released Thursday include: added language clarifying that a compounded drug is subject to the compounded drug regulation even if it includes an active ingredient listed as “exempt” on the formulary drug list, removal of a provision relating to repackaged drugs and an updated drug list header text to match the regulatory language, according to the press release.